Electric arc welding normally involves the use of an elongated, continuous welding wire directed toward a workpiece so an electric arc between the electrode or wire and the workpiece melts the welding wire and deposits the molten metal onto the workpiece. The wire for electric arc welding can be solid metal wire, such as steel or aluminum, or a cored metal wire with a center core of alloying materials and/or flux. In welding applications, large amounts of welding wire is stored on reels or in drums or boxes for feeding into the welding process; therefore, a tremendous amount of welding wire is produced. In the manufacture of welding wire, both solid and cored, the wire is processed through a drawing procedure where drawing compounds are often used. Consequently, as the wire exits the manufacturing apparatus, it is often desirable to clean it to remove unwanted material accumulated on the wire. Furthermore, it is somewhat standard practice to deposit a very thin layer onto the cleaned welding wire as it moves along a given path at the exit end of the manufacturing process preparatory to winding the wire onto a spool or laying the wire into packages, such as drums and boxes. The cleaning and coating of the rapidly moving wire has substantially increased the cost and time of the wire making process. Consequently, there is a substantial demand for improved means for cleaning and processing the rapidly moving welding wire as it issues from the drawing stands. One attempt to accomplish the cleaning of the wire is disclosed in Stava U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,864; however, this process has not solved the problems of cleaning the wire and does not accomplish the desired thin coating on the wire which must be done by a coating or dipping process. The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning and processing a rapidly moving welding wire, either solid or cored, in a manner to avoid contact with the wire, but sufficient to perform the desired processes on the moving wire.